ISO 9001:2000

Quality Management System

ISO 9001:2000 is the updated standard for quality management systems, one of the best known standards issued by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization.

These voluntary standards are concerned with quality management, this means with all that the organization does to ensure that its products and services conform to the customer's requirements and achieve customer satisfaction.

ISO 9000:2000

Quoted from ISO 9000:2000 section 0.2

The ISO 9001:2000 is based on eight quality management principles. These principles can be used by senior management as a framework to guide their organizations towards improved performance:

Principle 1 - Customer focus
Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations.

Principle 2 - Leadership
Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization. They should create and maintain the internal environment in which peoplecan become fully involved in achieving the organization's objectives.

Principle 3 - Involvement of people
People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization's benefit.

Principle 4 - Process approach
A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are managed as a process.

Principle 5 - System approach to management
Identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes as a system contributes to the organization's effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its objectives.

Principle 6 - Continual improvement
Continual improvement of the organization's overall performance should be a permanent objective of the organization.

Principle 7 - Factual approach to decision making
Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information

Principle 8 - Mutually beneficial supplier relationships
An organization and its suppliers are interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value.